500th Time Reborn, A World Only Known By Women: The Karma System

Tallia opened a portal and stepped through to stand behind the monster that Galio had become with Umbra in her arms. He had just finished eating the last part of the Riftwalker, and the massive nightmare cat turned on Tallia.

"I know that you are in there, Galio. I am going to keep you busy until you can get yourself under control, okay? You promised me that you wouldn't leave me, but this is your fight, and only you can do it. I will do my part and keep you from doing something you will regret. I will also say sorry now, to get it out of the way later for what I have to do now," Tallia called up, and Umbra merged into her, coating her body in a shifting shadow that made her look like a female shadow version of the Cat God himself.

The nightmare cat roared and charged at Tallia and swung down at her. The massive fist was stopped dead in its tracks by Tallia's outstretched arm, and it tried to swing with the other arm, but a wave of Negative Energy bubbled from her shoulder to her hand. Instantly, the nightmare cat was blasted back like it had been hit by a speeding train, slamming into a mountainside. The nightmare cat got back to its feet, and Tallia was already in the air, flipping over the cat's head and kicking it in the back of the head. The force of the blow sent the nightmare cat crashing to the ground again.

The nightmare cat scrambled to its feet, and Tallia was there waiting for it. The nightmare cat slashed at her with its claws, but she effortlessly dodged every attack and countered with a series of punches and kicks that would have killed a normal person. The nightmare cat was getting angry now, and it lashed out with everything it had, but Tallia dodged or blocked every attack, but the gigantic creature was ceaseless. Suddenly, the nightmare cat's paw came down on Tallia like a hammer, and she was sent flying through the air. The nightmare cat pounced after her, but she vanished in a puff of shadow and reappeared behind it.

"You are going to have to do better than that," Tallia taunted, and the nightmare cat roared in anger. It turned and charged at Tallia again, but this time she was ready for it. She dodged every attack and then countered with a series of her own that were so fast that they were nothing more than a blur.

The nightmare cat was getting frustrated now, and it began to lash out wildly, but Tallia was always one step ahead of it. Suddenly, the nightmare cat made a lucky shot and hit Tallia with a powerful swipe of its claws that sent her flying through the air. She hit the ground hard and skidded to a stop. The nightmare cat moved in for the kill, but Tallia was already on her feet again.

"Nice try," she said, and then she vanished in a puff of shadow again. The nightmare cat roared in frustration and charged after her, but she was always one step ahead of it.

This went on for what seemed like hours, but eventually, the nightmare cat began to tire. Its attacks became slower and less accurate, and Tallia was able to land more and more hits. Finally, the nightmare cat made one last desperate attack, and Tallia dodged it easily. She then countered with a powerful punch that sent the nightmare cat flying through the air. It hit the ground hard and didn't move.

Tallia walked over to the motionless body of the nightmare cat and placed her hand on its head. "It's over," she said softly, but then she was blasted backward by a massive explosion of dark energy. She hit the ground hard and skidded to a stop.

The nightmare cat was gone, and in its place was Galio. His body was engulfed in dark energy, and his eyes were glowing red.

[Galio]

Nothing that I tried seemed to work. No matter how deep I tried to dig, there was nothing that I had learned that could help me right now. I had never used this power before, and Tallia had done a good job of wearing me down, but even with my Nightmare form gone, I was still a passenger.

"I know that you're in there, Galio, but you need to regain your balance! Please! Just stop this so we can go home, and you can tease me about all my cats!" Tallia pleaded, but my body took a step toward her. I knew what it wanted, but I was not going to let it.

So long had I been trying to fix everyone else, but I had yet to look at myself. I was good, but I also had darkness within me. I had been trying to ignore it for so long, but now it was time to face it. I was going to need to become something else, something more, in order to fix this.

With that, I let go. I had been fighting the darkness this entire time, but the only thing that I hadn't tried was embracing it. I let the darkness flow into me, and I could feel myself changing. My body was growing larger, and my muscles were rippling with power. My clothes ripped as my body expanded, and soon I was standing there naked, but I didn't care.

The darkness flowed through me like a tidal wave, and I could feel myself becoming something else. Something more powerful than I had ever been before. The ground trembled beneath my feet as the power within me grew, and soon I was surrounded by a black aura that crackled with dark energy.

I lifted my head to the sky and roared, unleashing all of the pent-up darkness within me in a red and black swirling beam of light that filled the sky. When it finally dissipated, I slowly lowered my head to look at Tallia.

Then I collapsed, a more familiar darkness taking me, the world going dark as I heard Tallia scream my name.

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